--- title: 3 Industries That Need to Meet the Internet description: Karen Rubin talks about 3 industries that need more of a web presence and how they should go about doing it. image: https://karen-rubin.hs-sites.com/hs-fs/file-14914626-jpg/images/photo(5).jpg --- [![Karen Rubin's Ramblings](https://karen-rubin.hs-sites.com/hubfs/Karen_Rubin_June2016_Theme_Images/karen-rubin_logo.jpg "Karen Rubin's Ramblings")](https://karen-rubin.hs-sites.com/) # Karen Rubin's Ramblings # 3 Industries That Need to Meet the Internet Posted by Karen Rubin on Thu, May 14, 2009 @ 08:05 AM - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) Life around my home has been very interesting the last couple months. It started with a busted valve leaking water all over our brand new bamboo floors and ended with a meeting between the back of our car and pole in our garage this past weekend. Based on my experiences dealing with these two issues, I feel I can confidently say I have identified 3 industries that need to learn more about inbound marketing. ** #1 - Insurance Companies**  I have been dealing with both my [homeowners insurance](http://www.encompassinsurance.com/) company and my [auto insurance](http://www.commerceinsurance.com) company. While customer service at both has been acceptable (and even on the good side) it has often required long waits on the phone before I can talk to a human. This is a BAD experience for me. The questions asked by both have are clearly form questions asked to everyone reporting a claim, why can't I report my claim online and have someone call me?  ![](https://karen-rubin.hs-sites.com/hs-fs/file-14914626-jpg/images/photo(5).jpg) The reason is that the sites of both insurance companies are relatively pitiful brochure websites. Sure I can find the number to report a claim and I can do a zip code look up to find and agent, but what if I want to find information about what the process is for fixing my crunched car or damp floor? If I were an insurance company I would recognize that most people have lots of questions when filing a claim. How will this affect the cost of my insurance? How do I pay the auto body shop for the work? Can I bring in my own contractors to fix the floor? Is this accident going to add points to my license? As an insurance company I would make sure getting the answer to those questions was not only easy for my customers, but didn't require 10 minutes of hold music or 3 phone transfers. It could be handled through a forum, an FAQ page or even a blog about how to get issues resolved quickly and easily. **#2 - Auto body Shops** I know how to drive a car, fill it with gas, add windshield washer fluid and oil and that is about it. I am pretty much a novice when it comes to all things car and don't feel that I can begin to judge an auto body shop in any way. So how am I going to go about picking which one to take my car to? First stop for me is [Yelp](http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=autobody+shop&find_loc=somerville+MA&ns=1&rpp=10). There aren't an excessive number of reviews on auto body shops in the area, but there are enough. The one that catches my eye is [A Plus Auto body](http://www.yelp.com/biz/a-plus-autobody-somerville#hrid:7jAPrPOQiVfvozx_3XngqA/src:search/query:autobody%20shop). It's in Somerville, it has 5 stars and 8 reviews, my next stop is their website to see what information I can find. This is what I get,    ![](https://karen-rubin.hs-sites.com/hs-fs/file-14900375-jpg/images/aplusauto-resized-600.jpg)   Yes, that is a photo of a burning car, and that's the whole website! While I understand the impact, it doesn't fill me with confidence. I finally ended up heading back to the website of the dealer were we bought the car and checking out their collision center. I liked the people when we bought the car and while [their website](http://www.koautogroup.com/cambridge_co.asp) doesn't give me all the information I need, at least it doesn't have photos of burning cars! If I were an auto body shop, I would make sure I had a fantastic website that inspired confidence. It would include - before and after photos of jobs I had done, - customer testimonials, - answers to questions about how to get my car fixed and how long to expect it to take, - information I would need on hand when bringing my car in, - questions I should ask before it gets fixed, - and tips on dealing with the insurance company after an accident. In addition, I would as customers for reviews on Yelp and apply to rank on Google local search since people look for auto body shops close to home. **#3 - Contractors** The deal for contractors is much the same as the auto body industry. I don't know much about fixing my damaged floor, but I know I want someone I can trust who does good work. I got lucky in this regard because the developers of our building were able to suggest contractors who are fantastic. After they recommended them, I checked out their site and was amazed to see a [decent, informative site](http://www.jfconstructionllc.com) pulled together with testimonials and referrals.  ![](https://karen-rubin.hs-sites.com/hs-fs/file-14914532-jpg/images/photo(3).jpg) The only things I would do differently is get more exposure on Yelp (since that is where I looked first) and add a blog to help answer questions about work done on your home and what to expect. As a first time homeowner having work done for the first time, I had no idea what to expect. It would have been nice to get some more information from them directly through a blog.  Bottom line for all three industries is they need more of an online presence that is helpful to their customer base. I have spent a lot of time on the phone trying to get information and on the internet doing research. It's been hard to find the information I needed and if a company within these industries that took the lead in being open, transparent and informative online, they would have my business in a heartbeat. 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